Men and women in prison should be given the right to vote in municipal elections taking place in October, according to the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA).
The organization has written letters to nine communities throughout the province, asking them to ensure polling stations are set up for prisoners later this year. According to the BCCLA, the Local Government Act disqualifies anyone from voting who are serving more serious offences, and those who are being held in custody after being found guilty on account of mental disorder.
“It is imperative that those who have the right to vote be afforded the means to do so. People held in jail who have not been convicted of any crime should not be denied their vote,” said Robert Holmes, Q.C., President of the BCCLA.
This includes those who are awaiting trial in prison, and those convicted of summary, or minor, offences.
“The law and their sentence does not deprive them of their right to vote and municipal governments should not, through inaction, do so either,” said Holmes. “As prison populations grow, this issue will become more pressing, and this population more and more politically significant.”
There is no centralized organization in the province to oversee standards of voting, explained Holmes, and that is why there are no measures set up to prepare for the elections this year.
“That presents major difficulties getting the message through to many different communities that the law requires they make facilities available so that everyone entitled to vote can do so,” said Holmes. “We expect that cities will recognize their legal duties to ensure that everyone who may vote, can vote.”
Letters have been sent to Nanaimo, Maple Ridge, Chilliwack, Prince George, Saanich, Surrey, Kamloops, and Port Coquitlam, as well as Corrections BC so they can cooperate in the project.
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